Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is a common condition that affects one in 10 people in the UK. One in a 100 people says it has a significant impact on their quality of life.

For some, tinnitus will gradually fade and even disappear on its own. But many people who develop the condition, which is linked to hearing loss, will learn to live with tinnitus – a condition for which there's no cure.

Constant ringing

Ashleigh Whitfield, 32, has had tinnitus for the last seven years but she refuses to let the condition affect her work and social life.

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'I started experiencing this constant ringing noise in my ears when I was getting off a plane,' says Ashleigh, who lives in London. She works as a continuity announcer for the BBC and hosts her own online radio show.

'We had been in the air for 10 hours flying back to the UK from Mexico and I thought it was something to do with the change in pressure. But over the next few days and weeks, it didn't get better. In fact, it got worse.'

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Ashleigh went to see her doctor who thought the problem was sinusitis.

It wasn't until 18 months later, that she was finally diagnosed with tinnitus.

'By this point, I was beside myself. I was having difficulty sleeping and it was hard to concentrate.'

As well as a high pitched ringing tone, Ashleigh was hearing a whooshing noise in her left ear, a bit like the sound of the sea in a shell.

Hearing loss

Ashleigh was found to have otosclerosis – a condition where the tiny bones of the inner ear fuse together – and she learnt her hearing loss had probably caused the tinnitus.

Although she now has a hearing aid fitted, the ringing noise continues.

Coping strategies

She has now come to terms with tinnitus and has developed coping strategies for it.

'I don't like the sound of silence, so I listen to lots of songs on headphones when I'm doing my radio show and I do loads of exercise to make sure I'm tired out when it comes to bedtime.

I lead a full life, despite my tinnitus, and I'm always hopeful that they will find a cure one day.'

Science behind tinnitus

Dr John Phillips, a consultant ear nose and throat surgeon at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spoke to me about the science behind tinnitus.

People think that tinnitus is just a condition of older men. But in fact, it can affect anyone of any age, even children. It's just as common among women as men.

The exact mechanism behind the emergence of tinnitus is unknown but there's a close relationship between tinnitus and hearing loss.

Long-term exposure to environmental noise can cause damage to the tiny hair cells in the inner ear so tinnitus can occur as a result of noise damage.

One theory is that the brain reacts because it is deprived of normal sounds and literally 'creates' a sound to fill the gap.

Although the ringing sound may originate from damage to the ear, it continues even if the inner ear is removed.

We know this because when patients have inner ear tumours removed, some of them continue to experience tinnitus.

Although ringing is common, many people say they hear hissing, or white noise or even whistling.

It tends to get worse at night when things are quiet because there's no background noise to block out the sound. This means that some people suffering from tinnitus have difficulty sleeping.

Every patient is different, so treatments are customised based on a number of different physical factors, such as their hearing, and their emotional relationship to their tinnitus.

'In some cases, we help people by giving them strategies to cope and changing their emotional reactions to the sound,' explains Dr Phillips.

Relaxation can ease symptoms and recently there has been interest in techniques such as meditation.

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